The series is a parody of sword and sorcery conventions in general, and specifically of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

The "dungeon" of the title is, in the original series, a business establishment run by a mild-mannered chicken, where heroes come in search of adventure and treasure and invariably die.

Dungeon Zenith (Donjon Zénith) portrays the golden age of the world of Terra Amata .

A last sub-series called Donjon Bonus hosts works outside the comics, like the tabletop role-playing game Clefs en Mains Since the series start, it has grown into quite a large collection of volumes.

The volume number of books in the main series (Early Years, Zenith, Twilight, Antipodes) is also their level.